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Faculty receptivity to participation in continuing education as instructors, facilitators, or group leaders
Abstract
The purposes of this study were to identify the factors that promote or hinder faculty participation in continuing education and to develop guidelines for increasing faculty receptivity to such participation. Faculty participation in continuing education referred to serving as an instructor, facilitator, or group leader in credit or noncredit programs, courses, or workshops. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 30 faculty members at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The sample represented faculty who had participated in continuing education and faculty who had not participated and included equal numbers of assistant, associate, and full professors. All were full-time faculty. Responses of participants and nonparticipants in continuing education were compared. Both participants and nonparticipants indicated almost equally that financial reward is an encouragement for participation in continuing education. Participants knew many more continuing education staff than did nonparticipants. Nonparticipants cited the lack of time and the need to do research as hindrances to participation much more frequently than participants. Image and prestige of continuing education were important to both groups. Participants tended to stress advertising and promotion, while nonparticipants emphasized increasing the value of continuing education. In general, conditions perceived as encouraging faculty to participate included: providing appropriate financial rewards, having the opportunity to meet the needs of a nontraditional student population that is more mature and highly motivated, and meeting the service requirements for promotion and tenure. Conditions seen as hindering faculty participation in continuing education included: the lack of time to do all that is required of faculty, the need to do research, with continuing education not being an integral part of that commitment, poor compensation, and the relatively poor image and lack of status of continuing education. Implications of the findings and guidelines for continuing education were presented.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education
Recommended Citation
Bruning, Mary G, "Faculty receptivity to participation in continuing education as instructors, facilitators, or group leaders" (1989). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9004670.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9004670